“Like . . . many others, Nneka liked those programs in which you ‘were sitting there with living history.’ It’s amazing to be able to talk to someone who can say, ‘These were the times, this was the social climate, I was there.’ The visits by the Freedom Riders, Brown Sisters, and the original Project 500 participants seem to be the programs that have the biggest impact on people. A chance for interaction with people who actually lived through times is invaluable.” But the Project 500 Anniversary had significance for current students beyond that of hearing historical figures like the Freedom Riders and Brown sisters speak. Not only did students learn what it was like to be a student of color brought to the University of Illinois in 1968 by Project 500, but they could see quite clearly and directly how their own experience in 2003 connected to that historical moment. In part because they shared a sense of identity and home with the Project 500 alumni, they could see themselves as part of that still-evolving history. (Chapter 1)